CONTEXT: The southwestern United States is experiencing an
increasingly warmer and drier climate that is affecting cattle
production systems of the region. Adaptation strategies are needed
that will not compromise environmental quality or profitability.
Options include the use of desert-adapted beef cattle biotypes, such
as Rarámuri Criollo cattle, and crossbreds of Criollo with more
traditional British breeds. Currently, most calves raised in the
Southwest are grain finished, often with irrigated crops produced in
the hydrologically-threatened Ogallala Aquifer region. A viable
alternative may be grass finishing with the rainfed forage of the
arid and semi-arid rangeland of the Southwest or in the temperate
grasslands of the Northern Plains.
OBJECTIVE: Compare the environmental impacts and production costs of
grain-finishing in Texas and grass-finishing in the Northern plains
and the Southwest with traditional Angus cattle vs. Criollo and
Criollo x Angus cattle.
METHODS: Nine supply chain strategies were simulated using the
Integrated Farm System Model to compare farm-gate life cycle
intensities of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint), fossil
energy footprint, nitrogen footprint, blue water footprint and
production costs using representative (appropriate soils, climate,
and management) ranch and feedlot operations.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: For both finishing options (grass, grain),
Criollo x Angus cattle had the best environmental (3%-27% lower),
and production cost (4-23% lower) outcomes followed by pure Criollo
and then Angus cattle. Crossbred production combined the lower feed
supplementation requirements of Criollo cows with heavier final
carcasses of offspring from Angus genetics. Crossbred cattle with
grass finishing in the Southwest or Northern Plains outperformed on
most environmental variables as well as production costs, mostly due
to reduced external input requirements (primarily feed). A downside
for grass-finished crossbreds was greater carbon footprint (27-42%
higher) compared to grain finishing due to greater methane emissions
from high forage diets and an extended time to finish. On grasslands
where soil C sequestration can be supported, that land-based
sequestration may offset the greater greenhouse gas emission from
enteric methane of grass-finished beef. Grass finishing in the
Northern Plains may provide a more reliable meat supply chain than
grass finishing in the Southwest due to the lower risk and less
severe consequences of drought.
SIGNIFICANCE: Alternative beef supply chain options using Rarámuri
Criollo cattle were found to be sustainable production systems that
can be adopted by ranchers in the southwestern United States to
adapt to the changing climate.
